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music&artsfestival

by Jeannette Fang Maiori - Palazza Mezzacapo July 24, 2014 Usually when I hear “piano duo concert” I think of this: It’s generally not a bad idea to keep to having only one pianist on the stage. Except for… The Festival Duo! Vigilantes against stereotypes, the festival darlings of Jim Giles and Yoshikazu Nagai strode calmly to their pianos, perfunctorily bowing and launching immediately into a perfectly coordinated Lutoslawski with an ensemble that was so together it crackle

Shots from the Young Artist's Series no.3 and the Liszt Mini-Festival (The only time you'll see the words "mini" and "liszt" in the same line" recaps to follow #jeannettefang #brianhsu #liszt #naples #faculty #2014 #images #youngartistseries #thomasmastroianni #jimgiles #yoshikazunagai #loganskelton

by Jeannette Fang Hotel Reginna July 21, 2014 Yoshikazu Nagai likes to listen. He poses a question to you and then waits with slightly unnerving calm as you fumble, because the questions he asks are not ones that really have a right answer. They are ones that ask for your interpretation, opinion, and feelings. In Tuesday’s masterclass, he made it a point to begin each commentary with a direct question to the student about how they think about the piece. And he didn’t just

by Kyoo Hye Lim Yoshikazu Nagai, professor of San Francisco Conservatory, began the masterclass, instantly infusing the Reginna Auditorium with his friendly down-to-earth character to set up the highly communicative atmosphere. The first piece was Haydn Sonata in B minor, Hob.XVI:32, performed by Rebecca Wuu, who displayed a mature interpretation and musical ideas. Nagai worked on details with Wuu to make the sound more refined, also delivering the idea of psychological cha

by Jeannette Fang This was the perfect venue for Liszt, and especially for the program chosen. The dark, almost gothic décor, mixed with the opulence and rather bloody coloring, connoted the sort of mystery one might imagine in depicting the afterworld. The virtuosity of the architecture paralleled the brilliant pyrotechnics of the Horowitz-ed Hungarian Rhapsody, its height was reflected by the tinkling register of La Campanella, and its grandeur reflected in the two Transc

by Jeannette Fang With an unassuming serenity, Daniel Shapiro bows at the piano with an endearingly wry smile, not at all preparing us for the roaring blasts of his opening octaves. His whole body heaving into the piano, Shapiro embraces the majesty of the Schubert’s Impromptu Op.90 no.1, allowing the reverberations to pulse away, the smoke falling to reveal the heartfelt murmur of the theme. And this whole-hearted dedication to what is deeply felt in music is what defined